Day 1

After landing in Vegas around 2:30pm on Sunday before Memorial Day I hop in a cab and its off to the Hilton I go for a one night stay (much cheaper there than on the strip on a weekend night). I check in, drop off my stuff, and head straight to the Wynn to play some poker. My friends don't come in until Monday, so I'm planning to play poker non-stop the rest of the night.

Session 1: Wynn 5/10NL

I quickly get a seat in the Wynn 5/10NL game, buy in for 1500, and we're off and running.

First big hand I raise QhQd to 50 in MP after one limper, 2 callers behind, UTG limper calls. UTG is a youngish regular sitting on a 10k+ stack who seems pretty solid so far.

Flop is JhJc4s, I lead for 140, folds to UTG who calls.

Turn is a Qc (bingo!), he checks, I bet 320, he calls.

River is 8s, he leads for 300, I shove, he folds KJo face up. Good start for me!

Later after I get moved tables, I raise KdQd to 50 UTG+1, LAG villain calls in MP.

Flop comes Ts6s6h, I bet 80, villain calls.

Turn is 4s, I check, Villain bets 150, I raise to 460, he folds a ten face up. I show and he goes on monkey tilt about how he should have shoved lol.

After about 4 hours I am feeling pretty hungry and leave up around 2000. Good start! I grab some pizza on the strip and head over to the Venetian and get immediately seated in the 5/10NL game, there are 2 tables running.

I play pretty solid poker for about 5 hours and finish the session +1300. There is only one hand of interest which I posted in the strat forum.

So Day 1 Total: +3300

Day 2

I wake up and move over to NYNY for the rest of the trip. I check in and go meet my friends who just arrived.

One of my buddies really wants to hit the poker tables for some 1/2NL, so we head over to MGM (aka donkfest) to play some poker before dinner.

I sit in the 2/5NL game and am pretty much completely card dead the entire time. I am raising a lot in late position and taking down pots with cbets otherwise I'd be down a lot.

The only interesting hand of the session was the following. 3 limpers to me, I raise on the button to 35 with aces. I had been raising the button a ton and BB has played back at me once before. BB reraises to 110. He is a very solid player. I think for a while and call.

Flop comes K 5 2 rainbow, he checks, I bet 160, he folds claiming he had queens. I really hate how I played this hand. I called preflop to stack TT-QQ on low flops. I really should check back this flop and increase my chance of getting a bet out of TT-QQ on the turn. I am stacking or getting stacked by AA/KK/AK either way.

Session Total: -150

I play some wheel of fortune before dinner and quickly lose $100, GG me! We head to dinner as a group at an Italian restaurant inside the Venetian that one of my friends had found for us. She said it was suppose to be very good, and indeed it was, but I can't remember the name!

After dinner the guys go to hit up the Venetian poker room, and all 3 of us get seated at the same 1/2NL table. Its been a little while since I played 1/2, but wow was it soft. Preflop raises to $15 were called by 3-5 people routinely! I was kinda drunk from dinner and downing Goose and Tonics pretty fast during the session. The table was having a great time though, and it was a lot of fun. Unfortunately drunk poker = dumb overaggressive poker for me and I was down $200 in about an hour. Oh well.

We walk down the strip for a while and just miss the last Bellagio fountain show. My friends are all dead tired at this point from waking up at 5am CST so they head to bed at midnight, and I head inside the Bellagio for some 5/10NL.

I get seated almost immediately in a 5/10NL game at the Bellagio.

The game is pretty crazy aggro with raises preflop almost every single hand. There were a few interesting hands this session.

Hand 1

MP raises to 40, button calls, SB calls, I call in BB with KJo. Effective stacks are about $950.

Flop comes KQJ rainbow. SB leads for 120 (hadn't seen much out of him, seemed like a tight older player), I call, everyone folds.

Turn comes K. SB leads out for 110 (scared bet), I make it 320, he instacalls. With the instacall I am already doing the happy dance inside since he probably has a straight.

River comes an ace. He checks I go all in for my last 450, he snap calls with T9o. Good start for me!

Hand 2

I raise KK in MP to 50, folds around to SB who is new to the table and makes it 150 to go. I think for a while and flat call hoping to stack TT-QQ on low flops.

Flop comes Ad5h8h. He checks, I check behind.

Turn comes 7s. He checks, I bet 150, he calls.

River 9h. He checks, I value bet 250, he calls and tables QQ. I was really happy with how I played this hand, getting thin river value on a 4 straight, 3 flush board.

Hand 3

Villain in this hand is a young aggressive player. Raises pretty light (saw him showdown 62s after raising in MP) and is generally solid and aggressive.

Villain raises to 40 in MP. I call in CO with Jh7h. Button calls. BB calls. 1 limper calls. Effective stacks are 1600.

Flop comes 9c4h3h. Villain leads for 150, I make it 450 to go, he shoves, I end up folding. What a donk play by me, didn't give myself odds to call drawing to the flush draw. Should have just mucked it. He told me he had QQ, and I told him what I had. This would become important in the next hand.

Hand 4

Same villain as Hand 3 raises to 60 UTG+1, I call in MP with TT, 2 other callers behind. Effective stacks are $1500.

Flop comes Th 8d 3h. Villain leads for 200, I do the happy dance inside after my play in Hand 3 and this flop! I raise to 550, he shoves, I snap and hold.

Session Total: +3300

Day 2 Total: +2850

Day 3

Wake up and cab it out to Highland Falls golf course to play a round with one of my friends. Beautiful golf course, not too difficult, great scenery. Had an awesome time. I was one 10 foot putt away from shooting 100 for the first time!! Of course I choked, GG me!

We eat dinner at Noodles in the Bellagio. Pretty tasty food.

After dinner we play some blackjack and I win 100 to put myself at even for the non-poker gambling part of the trip!

Day 4

Wake up and go sit at the pool where my friends are staying at The Signature MGM. Great pool, great weather, very relaxing.

Afterwards we shower and head over to TI to catch Mystere. Awesome show, really enjoyed all the acrobatics and humor. After the show we eat dinner at Isla, a Mexican restaurant in TI. I get the filet fajitas which are absolutely delicious!

The girls really want to go to Studio 54 when we get back to the MGM, my buddy wants to play poker, so of course I head over to the poker room with him.

Get seated in a 2/5NL game quickly again. This session goes much better than the first one at the MGM. 3 interesting hands I kept note of.

Hand 1

UTG limps, I raise in MP to 300 with KsKc. 1 caller behind, SB calls, BB calls, UTG calls. Flop 964r. SB pushes all in for 170, I call and hold.

Hand 2

I raise QQ UTG+1 to 25, 2 callers including button (eff stack 300) who has been pretty solid so far.

Flop comes a beautiful AcQd8c. I lead for 60, he calls fast.

Turn is Th. I lead for 150, he shoves, I snap and hold.

Hand 3

Couple limpers to me in the CO including villain UTG (eff stack 300) who is very loose-passive, I raise to 35 with Ks8s. I know I'm running good when the flop comes K85r. He checks, I bet 50, he raises to 150, I shove, he snaps with AK and I hold.

Session Total: +1400

Day 4 Total: +1400

Day 5

We go see the dolphins at the Mirage before lunch which was alright. Nothing too exciting but they were fun to watch.

We eat at the Wynn buffet which I thought was pretty tasty, especially the desserts, but not as good as the Bellagio buffet.

After lunch my friends head to the airport and I head to the Wynn poker room. I check out the 5/10NL game but it doesn't look great, so I grab a seat in a 2/5NL game. After like 10 minutes the following hand comes up.

I limp UTG with 44, UTG+1 raises to 25, 3 callers behind me, I call completing the action.

Flop comes J43r. Bingo! I check, villain leads for 100, folds around to me, I call.

Turn comes a J. Great card for my hand but I figure not likely a great card for any action as it smells of an overpair.

River comes a Q. I lead out for 200, he calls and claims he had a Jack. Wtf, be the turn so I can stack you :)!

After that nothing goes right the rest of the session and I go from +450 to -1200 in a few hours. Oh well, can't run good all the time. Figured it was time to get up and head to the Bellagio for one last 5/10NL session.

I get to the Bellagio and sit down in a 5/10NL game. For the first 4 or 5 hours there are no real interesting hands at all and I hover between even and -700. Then the hand of the trip happens.

3 limpers to me, I look down at Q9o, am about to throw it away, and decide WTF why not, lets see a flop. I have 1400, V1 has 900, and V2 has me covered. We take a flop 7 ways.

Flops comes Qs9s4c. SB leads out for $60, V1 calls, V2 calls, I raise to $290 total. SB folds, V1 shoves, V2 thinks for a bit and shoves as well. I look at them and say "if either of you has 44 enjoy my money, I'm all in".

V1 flips up As3s. V2 has Ks4s. I stand up and can feel my heart racing as I look down at the biggest pot of my life, $3800. Turn brick, River brick ... Ship it!!

I stay for another hour, lose a bit and leave +1900 for the session.

Day 5 Total: +700

So overall on the trip I was +8350. Not too bad.

Had a great time in Vegas and am hoping to get back sometime in the next 6 weeks to play a WSOP event (was going to play Event 2, but had to get back for a wedding).

Oh and to cap things off, when I got back to chi-town a couple of my friends call me and somehow talked me into going to Resorts with them where in 2 hours I win 650 playing 5/10NL to round off the week to an even 9k!

If anyone is still reading this I am very impressed. Hopefully it wasn't too long.